The Aftermath
by Gustavus Adolphus
Summary: Courier Six was poised to be the undisputed master of the Mojave. Then suddenly, he had a change in heart. See how the Courier copes with the consequences of his decision after an NCR victory.


4

Soldiers paraded through the streets, marching bands played Old World Music, and the flag of the two headed bear flew proudly on every casino save for the Lucky Thirty Eight. Courier Six leaned over the railing of the penthouse balcony, and while his companions took full advantage of the amenities provided to them by the former palace of Robert House, he continued to observe the victory parade. He clenched the railing and his grip tightened to the point that his hands began turning white. He was still wearing his Ranger helmet, the one that he had morbidly personalized throughout his journey, complete with a cracked yet still glowing red visor, and a bullet hole near the left temple where he had etched the phrase, "Benny Was Here."

His brooding introspection was cut short however when someone tapped on his shoulder. "Hey! Will you stop being such a downer and join us already? We won! Loosen up a little, why don't you?" Veronica had doffed the Enclave Power armor that Arcade had provided them with and instead was wearing the dress that Six had gifted her a few weeks prior. Little did she know that the dress had once belonged to Vera Keyes. "Is something wrong? I mean, I'd usually know if something is wrong but you haven't taken off that dumb mask since Mr. Monster of the East ran home with his tail between his legs."

Six sighed and took off the helmet. He flipped it around and looked at his reflection through the visor before looking back up at Veronica. "It's nothing," he said. "Just some stuff on my mind."

"Like…?" Veronica leaned forward, eyes wide in anticipation and nudging him gently with her elbow.

"Did I do the right thing?" Six averted his gaze, instead choosing to stare back at his helmet. "I had this all planned out. I was gonna be the undisputed king of an independent Vegas, and now…"

"Now you're being mopier than Boone." The two looked back into the penthouse and saw the former First Recon sniper mingling with the others. "No, I take that back, you're being _worse_ than Boone right now. Congrats, you're officially the number one downer in the gang." Six was about to put his helmet back on when Veronica grabbed his wrist. "Okay, really, this has got to stop. Ever since you came out of the Divide, you've been all work and no play. You've hardly taken off that helmet and now you're prancing around with an Old World flag on your back. Then just as I was actually getting excited to have a robot army at my disposal, you decided to help the NCR last minute. What the hell happened down there?"

"I just learned a lot," Six said, lowering his helmet again. "About history, about myself, and about the world. Believing in myself, in an, 'independent Vegas,' it just seems so selfish now. Like what the hell would the long game be? Would I just become another House? I don't have his mind for business or innovation so his plans for space travel probably would've been put on hold for a while. It just seemed like a dead end."

"Is that why you chose the NCR?" Veronica asked, leaning up against the railing beside Six. She gave a short chuckle and shook her head. "Growing up in the Brotherhood, I never thought too highly of the NCR, and while I'd certainly take them over the Legion, they never would've been my first choice." There was a pregnant pause and Six bowed his head and sighed. "So...why _did_ you choose them?"

"Because...they may not be perfect, but they are trying." Down below a handful of Desert Rangers were handing out little flags to the children on the sidewalk. "That's more than you can say about most groups in the Wasteland."

"Huh," Veronica said, nodding. "I guess that's as good a reason as any. Though, you could've just sided with the Legion."

Six glared at her and while she attempted to maintain her composure, she eventually broke out laughing. "That's not funny."

Veronica was doubled over, clutching her stomach and trying to stifle her laughter. "Okay, okay...that might've been in bad taste but come on, just crack a smile will you? You've been doing that less and less since you came out of the Sierra Madre and you haven't done it at all since the Divide."

Six glanced at the celebration down below before looking back at the former scribe. He didn't have it in him to disappoint Veronica and a small yet sincere smile crept up onto his face. "What would I do without you Veronica?"

"You'd need to find someone else who can make bullets out of toasters," she said, crossing her arms and grinning.

"Is that the reason I spend half my time traveling with a technofetishist, dumpster diving hobo?" Six donned his helmet to prevent Veronica from seeing the shit eating grin on his face.

"Hey!" she said as she punched his shoulder a bit harder than he would have liked. Six was thankful that she wasn't wearing her ballistic fist. "Those are some big words coming from a cyborg mailman with two extra holes in his head."

"This fucking mailman just defeated the most powerful army East of the Colorado with a pistol and some smooth talking." He crossed his arms and puffed out his chest a bit while Veronica rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Okay then, tell me this," she said, putting her hands on her hips, "what's next for the legendary Courier Six?"

"I dunno really." He leaned over the railing again to watch the parade below. That weasel General Oliver came by, standing in the back of an open topped car and waving to the crowds. Six groaned before looking back at Veronica. "Maybe travel East, see what else the Wasteland has for me. Yes Man and the securitron army are still on standby though, so maybe the whole King of Vegas thing isn't out of the picture. Though right now," he took Veronica's hand and gave a reassuring squeeze, "I think I need to help my best friend reconnect with her old flame."

Veronica gave him a puzzled look before her eyes widened in realization. "Six...you really don't need to." She tried pulling her hand away but he just held on tighter. "I can handle it on my own. You have bigger things to worry about right now."

The Courier snickered. "Like what? Signing autographs and showing up to whatever PR stunts Oliver and Kimball have planned for me? No, this is more important."

The two stared each other down until eventually, Veronica conceded. "Fine," she said, shrugging. "Come along if you want but don't blame me if you end up third wheeling the entire time."

The procession on the strip went silent all of a sudden and Kimball began giving his speech. Six's eyes nearly rolled into the back of his skull while Veronica gagged at the sound of the NCR president's voice. "Yeah, well anything is better than having to put up with this bullshit. By the way, don't let it weird you out too much, but Christine might sound a _little _bit different from the last time you saw her."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." Veronica pushed off the railing and began leading Six back into the penthouse. "Right now though, Raul is incoherently babbling in Spanish, Lily is talking about her grand kids again, Cass is...well, herself I guess, Boone is communicating in more than just grunts and laconic fragments, and I really don't feel like dealing with all that crap on my own."


End file.
